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Born in St. Louis, Jabari Asim is a journalist and author of many works of fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, and drama. He is currently the executive editor of The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP. He contributes to The Washington Post and Bookforum, and is as an associate professor of creative writing at Emerson College.
Advance Praise for Jabari Asim's ONLY THE STRONG Only the Strong effortlessly transmits Jabari Asim's profound affection for this book's charismatic and varied characters. This is a vivid, revelatory portrait of 1970s America in the disheartened aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death. --Rafael Yglesias, author of The Wisdom of Perversity There's an eerie timeliness to the publication of this fictional study of Saint Louis black communities of the 1970s. Only the Strong reminds me of Chester Himes' Harlem entertainments--in its deceptively light handling of desperately serious subject matter. Jabari Asim is a writer to watch, and to listen to closely, in these difficult times. --Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls' Rising and Zig Zag Wanderer It is like stepping into a time capsule of my old neighborhood in the 1970s...to read about Gateway City, Jabari Asim's fascinating rendition of St. Louis, as an adult brings back memories of time and place, and also admiration for his storytelling. --Susan Straight, author of Between Heaven and Here and A Million Nightingales Praise for Jabari Asim's A TASTE OF HONEY: STORIES These tales are characterized by a winning lightness of touch and tone--a fundamental generosity of spirit, dusted with nostalgia--that make [Asim's] first book of fiction for adults go down sweetly indeed. -- Washington Post This collection of short stories...interweaves the lives of various characters, skillfully rendered, in a textured portrait of life in an urban community. --Vanessa Bush, Booklist Asim successfully delves into politics, domestic violence, racial identity, young love, and more in this humorous and poignant collection... -- Publishers Weekly Jabari Asim has written a compelling collection of stories that take us inside the life of a family and community in a tumultuous time. --Lynna Williams, Chicago Tribune With his debut work of fiction, the Guggenheim Fellow proves himself to be a promising storyteller. -- Library Journal This fiction rings true. -- Kirkus Reviews Praise for Jabari Asim's THE N WORD .. .[A]n exhaustive history of white supremacist ideology.... clear, engaging writing. -- Publishers Weekly This important new book sheds light on questions that have long gone unanswered... Every home should have it. --E. Lynn Harris, author of I Say A Little Prayer Asim addresses the root of this controversial word in American rhetoric and contemporary experience.... a reminder of the troubled legacy of race relations in the US. --Vernon Ford, Booklist In The N Word, we just might have the definitive word on the essence of power and subordination in America. --Christopher Benson, coauthor of Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America Jabari Asim persuasively explains why the N word remains a slur and a symbol of inequality. --Mary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
